Advertisementīut now, the 'free flyer' competitors have some funding to try to catch up. Axiom completed the cumbersome 'preliminary design review' for its station in September, a process the free-flying stations are unlikely to finish before 2025.

In addition to providing the benefit of power, breathing air, and crew time through its initial attachment to the space station, Axiom is ahead in the design and construction of its facility.

The award gives Axiom the right to attach its module to the station's Node 2 forward point.Īt this stage, Axiom would appear to have some advantages in the competition for future NASA private station awards. Previously, in February 2020, as part of a separate competitive procurement process, NASA awarded Axiom Space a $140 million contract to develop a habitable commercial module for the International Space Station.

Northrop Grumman, $125.6 million, leading a team including DyneticsĮach of these space station concepts is a 'free flyer' in the sense of launching independently of any other facility.

Nanoracks, $160 million, leading a team including Lockheed Martin and Voyager Space.

Blue Origin, $130 million, leading a team including Sierra Space, Boeing, and Redwire Space.

The individual award amounts, with links to each concept, are: The total estimated award amount for all three funded Space Act Agreements is $415.6 million. NASA intends to become an 'anchor tenant' by sending its astronauts to one or more private stations in orbit starting in the second half of the 2020s. This represents a big step toward the space agency's plan to maintain a permanent presence in space even after the aging International Space Station, which can probably keep flying through 2028 or 2030, reaches the end of its life. On Thursday afternoon, NASA announced that it had awarded three different teams, each involving multiple companies, more than $100 million apiece to support the design and early development of private space stations in low Earth orbit.

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